MARY GROVE: Hello, good afternoon, how is everybody?
Excited?
Thank you so much for joining us.
My name is Mary Grove, and I'm the director
of Google for Entrepreneurs, and it is my tremendous honor
to welcome Diane Von Furstenberg back to Google.
Our guest today is a remarkable talent
who needs no introduction, but I would
like to share three things that I particularly
admire about Diane.
The first is that she is the ultimate entrepreneur,
an incredible self starter whose story really embodies
the quintessential American dream.
From Diane's arrival in New York City in 1970
with just one suitcase full of dresses,
DVF products are now sold in 55 countries around the world,
and has evolved far beyond the iconic wrap dress which we're
celebrating the 40th anniversary of this year.
Number two, is Diane's steadfast commitment
to empowering women all over the world.
In 2011 she established, through the Diller Von Furstenberg
Family Foundation, the DVF awards.
And these awards recognize women who show tremendous courage
and bravery in the face of adversity.
I admire everything she does to support women.
And thirdly, I admire her generosity and openness
and sharing so personally her own story,
her own amazing family history, her journey in establishing
and building a global brand that is loved around the world,
her personal battle with cancer which she fought courageously
and successfully, and her views on love and life.
Please join me in welcoming Diane Von Furstenberg.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Hi.
MARY GROVE: Welcome, it's wonderful to have you back.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Thank you.
When I came here to speak in 2005,
I think, they were practically no women here.
and I'm not sure the others knew who I was.
And that's definitely changed.
And but it was pretty amazing already,
but it was nothing compared to what it is now.
So it's fun to be here.
MARY GROVE: Welcome back.
Before we get started, I want to cue just a quick video, which
is the journey of the wrap dress.
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[END VIDEO PLAYBACK]
So Diane, I wanted to get started
by talking about your roots, and you shared so much
of your personal journey-- you open your book by talking
about your mother's courageous story as a Holocaust survivor,
how she gave birth to you against all odds.
And she said to you, you are my torch of freedom,
and taught you that fear is not an option.
Can you share with us a memory of how your mother helped
you become the woman you wanted to be.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Well, first of all,
I think my mother was, what they call today, a tiger mom.
Which is that, if I was afraid of the dark
she would lock me into the closet, which today you
could probably be arrested for.
But of course, after 10 minutes, it wasn't dark anymore,
because when you're in the dark for 10 minutes you can see.
And also you realize that there's no reason to be afraid.
So my mother didn't want me to be afraid.
And one of the reasons why she didn't want me to be afraid
is because of her own history.
At the age of 22, she was a prisoner of war
and she went to the Nazi concentration
camp of Auschwitz and Ravensbruck and a third one.
She came back, she weighed 49 pounds,
I mean, less than her bones.
She wasn't supposed to have survived but she did.
She went back home and her mother fed her.
Six months later her fiancee came back to Belgium--
he had been in Switzerland-- and they got married,
and the doctor said you absolutely cannot have a child.
Because if you have a child-- your body
can't handle it, and besides the child
will probably be not normal.
Well, sure enough, I was born nine months later,
and I was not normal.
And you know when-- well, you are all young
so you know that when your mother is very strong
you protect yourself from all that strength.
But then when your mother passes away,
you think a little bit more of the impact that she had on me.
And so I wanted to tell her story.
And by telling-- by doing research and telling her story,
I realize that I am her vengeance.
And I am the way I am because of that, because of what she was.
So I ended up writing about my mother
and then ended up writing about me.
And so this book, this memoir has been really difficult.
I've never gone to a therapy before, and I did that.
But I really opened myself, and I tell it really
as it is because I think that truth and honesty is certainly
the most useful thing you could do for yourself,
but it's also good to do it, to have others do it.
So I am glad that people are responding well to the book,
because otherwise I would feel terrible.
I would feel horrible that I open myself for nothing.
So I hope you enjoy.
MARY GROVE: Thank you for doing that, absolutely.
So in the business of fashion the wrap dress
which launched in 1974, by 1978 had sold millions already
throughout the nation and it was revolutionary in its softness,
its versatility.
What do you think the wrap dress symbolized then,
and what does it symbolize now, 40 years later.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Well, the first thing it symbolized
is that I could pay my bills.
Which was, at the end, my first goal
was to be independent because my mother put it in my head,
and I really wanted to be independent.
So I became independent through that dress.
But because it was fashion, what now I realize-- of course I
didn't realize it then, but now looking back-- I
realize that as I was becoming independent and confident
and the woman I wanted to be, I was sharing it
to other women in fitting rooms.
So I was getting confident and I was selling confidence
through the dress.
So that dress, to me, I just made that dress.
It's not like I thought it was something
that will live for that long.
But I guess that in the sense that it
was my need, my own personal need for freedom.
The dress was good quality, it was effortless, it was sexy,
it was not too expensive, but it just molded you.
It was proper enough and sexy enough.
Somehow I guess that message that was done through a dress
really took on, and women really reacted to it.
And everyone in America wore that dress.
I mean, I was 25 and within no time at all
we were making 25,000 dresses a week,
which is 50,000 sleeves, that's a lot.
I remember I used to say that because it looked like more.
So I lived an American dream, which
of course, my American dream is nothing compared to a Google.
I mean, it was very minute.
But it was, nevertheless, an American dream
and I was a young woman.
MARY GROVE: So speaking of Google, and welcome back
to Silicon Valley, you've always been so transformative
and disrupting the fashion industry if you look back
across the last four decades.
You started selling your dresses on QVC and the Home Shopping
Network before merchandise clothing was really
sold on television.
Last year you worked with Sergey to debut Google glass in a DVF
fashion show, as well as launch the first shoppable Hangout
where consumers could purchase products live through a Google+
Hangout.
So looking now, what technologies
are you most excited about or do you think
are most critical to the success of your business?
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Well first of all, I joke always
and I say that I'm so happy that I am old enough
to have danced at Studio 54, and young enough
to be part of the digital revolution.
MARY GROVE: I saw you Instagram outside.
Before we came in.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: I do.
And so I love technology.
And I think it's so incredible what has happened,
and all the grounds that we've broken,
and all the things that you can do that there was no way
that we could dream that we could do.
So I am very, very into it and I love it.
And again, it was an accident that I presented the Google
Glass first in the world.
I mean, it was-- but it just shows you
that when you are young-- or not young--
it's important to push the doors whatever is happening.
And it's just because I saw Sergey
hiding behind a tree trying these things.
And I said, what are you doing?
And he said, come, I show you.
And they hadn't shown anyone.
This was in Sand Valley and he showed
me that and we started to talk.
And it was July and I said, Sergey have you ever
been to a fashion show?
He said, no never.
I said, you should come to my show in September.
That was it.
And then two or three weeks later, I get a call from Sergey
and he said, you know, I was thinking how
about showing Google Glass on the runway.
And I thought, oh.
I didn't even understand what he was talking about.
I said sure.
And what it was, it must have been
that day with talking marketing, and saying, how can
we show it to the world in the way that is not just dry tech.
And somebody said the word fashion,
and he said, oh fashion.
I have a friend in fashion.
She invited me to a fashion show.
And that is actually how the whole thing happened.
And when you read the book, it's at the very end
of the whole story it's at the very end of the book.
You'll see that that day I wasn't particularly loving
my show, and so anyway, Google Glass kind of saved
my show because-- anyway, so it's a long story,
but it just shows you that you always
have to be very wide open and curious and open to anything.
MARY GROVE: So on that note, in following your journey,
I notice that you have a unique for recognizing an opportunity
and then seizing the moment.
So one example would be in your book
you talk to how you had trained in Italy,
and you noticed this trend in Europe where t-shirts, fashion
t-shirts were just becoming fashionable in the Jersey
material, the soft material.
And so you brought that to America
and then evolved it to the wrap dress.
Another example would be relaunching your business
when you noticed that the hip young girls were
wearing vintage DVF dresses from the 70s
and relaunching the wrap dress.
I'm curious if you see any big new opportunities today,
if you think fashion startups can really do anything
to seize a gap.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Oh, my god.
You don't need any-- you don't need me to tell you that.
I mean, there's so many intelligent people here
were looking for opportunities and pushing the ground.
I mean, if anything, I'm here to learn from you.
But it is, I think it is important to dare
and push and look and be curious and also when you fail,
you fail.
Then you get back up and do it again.
It's-- life is a journey.
It's a big journey.
And people come in, people go out, you have successes,
you have failures, and as long as you're true to yourself,
it's OK.
MARY GROVE: So I want to talk about the brand,
the global brand that has become a phenomenon.
And you arrived in New York and launched with the dress,
but ended up transforming and growing
the line into cosmetics, into fragrances, a home line, and so
much more.
Can you talk about the lessons you learned along
the way about developing DVF as a brand?
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Oh, my god, I learned so many lessons.
But I am not necessarily a good example of business.
I am an entrepreneur.
I am a dreamer.
And I'm a person who can make-- who can have an idea
and make it happen.
I'm not the best executive.
I'm not a CEO.
So the lesson that I would say is
that it's important to recognize your strengths and weaknesses.
But I mean in the book-- this book is like therapy.
I never went to therapy before, and this book was therapy.
But it shows that it doesn't matter how old you are.
I mean, I'm a grandmother.
I'm old, I have-- I came up with something that's already 40,
that you think that's so old.
And yet I still think of myself like I'm a young girl
and I'm starting up.
And I guess I'll always be like that.
But I think in a sense that's also my energy and who I am.
That's why I start again and again.
MARY GROVE: Love is life is love, I heard you say.
So in the book you talk about how you often
speak with young people and a favorite piece of advice
you give them is it's passion and persistence that matter,
and dreams are achievable, but there
are no shortcuts, and no hard work.
What is the best-- I want to flip that question and ask you.
What is the best piece of career advice
you received along the way, and how did that
impact your journey?
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: I don't know.
I mean, The only real advice that I got from my mother
which I remember the most is never be a victim,
and never blame anyone for anything
even if they are blameable.
Just deal with it.
And that was great advice because resentment is toxic
and blaming people doesn't help anything.
I mean, the independence-- what my mother gave
me was the independence and that is really something
that I value so much.
Now what I found out by myself, and really, really early on,
and I am astounded that I realized that early on,
and that would be my advice to anyone,
is that the most important relationship in life
is the one you have with yourself.
I don't think I can give bigger advice, advice
that applies to everyone, men, women, old, young,
it doesn't matter.
Because at the end, the strength is in yourself
and it's not in somebody else, and it's not
any guy that's going to make-- It's not.
It's you.
Then if you have that relationship
with yourself figured out, and it's not like it
you figure it out and it's good forever.
It's practice.
It's every day.
You have to be angry with yourself,
and then you have to be nice to yourself,
and a lot of different things.
It's practice.
It's like pruning a tree, or cleaning the plumbing.
But once you do have that, and once you really
have a relationship with yourself,
then any other relationship is a plus and not a must,
and so you're not needy.
And I think that it's important.
So that's my advice.
Remember.
MARY GROVE: Most important relationship is with yourself.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: That's right.
MARY GROVE: So shifting gears a bit,
I want to talk about the future and what
you're focused on in the road ahead.
Can you tell us a little bit about your new TV show?
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Oh.
Yeah, so this year was very, very busy.
In January I celebrated the 40th anniversary
of the wrap dress in a big exhibition at LACMA
in the Los Angeles, which is now featured in this big coffee
table book, Rizzoli, "The Journey of a Dress".
Then I finished my memoir, which was very painful and very, very
tiring.
And then I also did something a little crazy, I did a TV show.
And it's called the House of DVF and in a sense
it's both to be in touch with young people
and also because I see what garbage that my granddaughters
watch on television.
And so how can I go to that genre and apply to that,
and make it fun, and make it naughty, and make it
informative, but at the same time
manage to pass some strong, empowering messages.
So we came up with this idea of six
to eight girls who come into the company
and they learn everything from merchandising to retailing
to marketing and design, and then one of them
will win and become a brand ambassador.
So we already have three episodes
which you could probably see online.
It's on E. And Sunday night at 10 o'clock
you can watch episode four.
And it's eight episodes and it will
end on December 20th I think.
MARY GROVE: Great.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: And one of the candidates
is from the Bay Area, but I'm not going to tell you who wins.
MARY GROVE: So in terms of looking ahead
from a business perspective, in your book you talk
about DVF products are sold in over 55 countries,
one of the more recent countries you entered was China.
Can you talk about your entry into the Chinese market,
how you--
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: OK, first, first of all I love
China.
I mean I grew up reading books about China,
Pearl Buck, or Tenten.
I was always fascinated by the mystery and the strength
in the Wall of China, everything.
So the first time I went to China was 1989 or 1990,
and there were only bicycles in Beijing at the time.
So I wanted to be known-- I woke up about maybe by now
it's maybe four years ago, and I said,
I want to be known in China.
And so I went to China a lot.
And I became very friendly with a lot of people, artists
and writers, and bloggers.
And I spent a lot of time because I wanted to--
because when I was a young girl, even though it's funny
because even though I didn't think I was going
to be in fashion, I remember that I used to say,
if you sell one t-shirt to every Chinese, you make--
And so I already had that in my mind.
So I really wanted to come to China
and not sound like an American colonizer.
And so I spent time knowing the people
and becoming friends with them.
And little by little I got known in China and I have--
MARY GROVE: How many stores now?
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Oh I don't know.
I have-- I have about 40 stores I think.
Quite a lot in China.
And I have how many?
One million or two million followers?
I mean a lot.
So I like Chinese people.
I think they are smart and they they're great.
I totally identify and I wish I spoke the language,
but then again, I'm not Mark Zuckerberg.
MARY GROVE: So In terms of community,
you've been incredibly involved through philanthropy,
through your own family foundation.
More recently supported efforts like the High Line
in the West Side of Manhattan near the Google office
and a new park and art space that's called Pier 55.
What is your hope for where New York
City might be in 5 to 10 years?
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Well, let's hope
that it stays out of the water for one thing.
And you know, I always saw New York like Venice.
For me it's like Venice.
It's the center of both commerce and art.
Every artist in the world wants to show in New York
and be sold in New York.
So for me Venice and New York were very similar.
So that's why I'm very involved into the waterways.
And I think that we had a tendency
of going inland and building highways along the coast.
So now we're trying to the change that.
When I first came to New York it was very, very cheap.
But it was also very, very dangerous.
Probably goes together.
But at the same time, they were a lot
of-- because it was very cheap, there were a lot of artists
there and it was fun.
It was really, really fun.
Now it's different.
It's much more expensive, and it is different.
But it still has a lot of energy.
And I think that one of the reasons that New York has
so much energy is because it's built on granite.
So the minute you get to New York, you have a lot of energy.
And I'm sure Google is built on granite too.
Whereas Paris is built on sand, so you
have a tendency to kind of fall asleep.
MARY GROVE: Do you spend much time back in Europe now?
Or are you between Europe and here?
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: I am European,
so I have a place in Paris.
And so it's important for me to be-- it's nice for me
to go to Europe.
But my children and my grandchildren
now live on the West Coast, so I have a tendency to go west.
MARY GROVE: Are there any up and coming designers
you think we should be on the lookout for?
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Well, I am
the president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America
so I am basically the mother of all designers so
as the mother of all designers, I can't have a favorite child.
MARY GROVE: You hear it here first.
So on that note, I am curious.
We talked a lot about how your story personifies
the American dream, you're an entrepreneur
with this tremendous global perspective,
and the way that businesses are born and grow
has changed tremendously in the last 40 years.
Even in fashion, you've seen the consolidation
of the large department stores, for example.
Do you think that it would be easier or more difficult
now to build a global business and brand?
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: I don't think it's harder, actually.
I think maybe it's easier.
Because you have the internet, so everyone has a voice.
If you have the internet, you just do a website at the start.
So then you have a voice.
So I think that the internet has given everyone
more democrat-- democracy?
Democracy.
Even though sometimes it's a little dangerous.
So I think that overall, and the world is more global,
and also you have more mentoring systems.
And as the CFDA, we have an incredible program with Vogue.
It's called the CFDA Vogue Fashion fund.
And we mentor young designers and help them
and that has really helped enormously.
So I think that people are more into mentoring.
But of course, everything goes fast.
MARY GROVE: In a few moments, I'm
going to switch gears and take questions from the audience.
So if you have a question in mind,
please feel free to go ahead and line up.
So Diane, I want to talk about your legacy.
And you've talked about the various phases
of your life, how it was independence,
getting independence, how it was growing your business,
now it's sort of what legacy do you leave behind.
You said that when you and Joel Horowitz
were working on transforming the company in 2012,
you did an exercise where everybody defined
three words that exemplified the brand.
Those were effortless, sexy, and on the go.
So if you could use three words now
to describe the legacy you hoped DVF will leave behind,
what might they be?
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Well, I think
that my mission in life overall, business or not,
is really to empower women.
Since I empowered myself first, and after I've
empowered myself, it's important that I
feel that everyone can be the woman they want to be.
And so I do that through my work,
by making them feel sexy and attractive with the clothes,
but also through mentoring and philanthropy.
So maybe I hope to be remembered as a woman who
did it for herself and for others.
MARY GROVE: Let's take some questions from the audience.
If you could introduce yourself to start, that'd be great.
AUDIENCE: Hi, Diane.
My name's Connor I might be behind the camera--
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: The only man here?
MARY GROVE: My husband is also here in the back.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: All right.
Who's is your husband?
MARY GROVE: Steve Grove.
AUDIENCE: The bearded one.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Hi.
AUDIENCE: Well, thank you so much for coming out and talking
to us.
It's been wonderful to hear from you.
My question is on your advice that you
give about having your relationship with yourself
is so important and that you we're
astounded you found that out so early.
How did you find that out, and what do people
do on a day to day basis to help build that relationship?
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: How did I find out?
I don't know.
I was fascinated by mirrors when I was a tiny, tiny little girl.
None that I liked what I saw in the mirror, because I
didn't, but I liked that I had control over that thing.
You if I did that, she would do that.
You did that, they'd do that.
So I think that it starts from there.
My relationship, it started with the mirror, I have to say.
But it's wasn't narcissism, because I
didn't like what I look like at all.
But I like that I had control.
And so it made me realize that I have control over myself.
AUDIENCE: That's awesome.
I've always tried to explain my love of mirrors to other people
too.
So I can just point them right to that clip.
That's perfect.
Thank you.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: That's very brave of you.
Be brave, that's right.
AUDIENCE: I have a question from when you first
emerged in the fashion scene.
What has been the biggest surprise to you
in terms of what you've seen in the fashion world?
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: What is the biggest surprise
that I've seen in the fashion world.
I don't know.
Oh my god, I don't know.
I guess that there are not that many things that
actually surprise me.
AUDIENCE: It can be a specific trend.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: What?
AUDIENCE: It can be a specific trend.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Oh, the big trend.
I don't know.
But the big trends, they don't appear like all of a sudden
it's a big trend.
It kind of crawls on you.
And if you are a designer which at the end is what I am,
you kind of smell it before it comes.
And that can't be explained.
That's really just the mystery of fashion.
AUDIENCE: So you can't be surprised, you know everything?
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: No, I don't know everything at all.
And the you know, the more you know you know nothing.
No, no, no.
But I think it's-- maybe what I would say what surprised me
the most is that fashion at the end is a huge industry,
huge industry.
But it's also a very mysterious, very mysterious thing.
That expands not just on clothes, but food,
and the way people do things.
A little bit of a collective madness.
AUDIENCE: Thank you.
AUDIENCE: Hi, Diane, my name is Maida Felix.
You've talked about success, and how you sometimes failed
and sometimes succeeded.
So I was wondering if you can recall a time where you failed?
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Oh, I failed many times.
You've got to read the book.
AUDIENCE: Yeah.
[LAUGHTER]
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: I failed many times,
but what I will say to you is that I never
dwelled on my failures.
I just said, OK move on.
This is the reality, whatever, cut your losses,
and then move on.
And then as you move on, things happen good.
And then you don't even realize that it all
started with a failure.
So that also was a lesson from my mother.
She said not to dwell on the darkness.
Always look for the little bit of light,
and build around the light.
AUDIENCE: And do you think-- where
do you find that strength?
Because I feel as young people, sometimes it's
easy to get comfortable if you have a job.
How can we find that strength to jump and not be afraid?
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: The truth is
that it's not the strength that you need in order to jump.
You got to want it.
And wanting it most often starts from frustration.
I don't know-- I don't think I know any successful person
whose success didn't start first with a huge frustration.
AUDIENCE: Thank you.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: That is the truth.
AUDIENCE: Diane, my name's Emily.
I have a question for you.
So at Google--
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: You have a pretty dress.
AUDIENCE: Oh, thank you.
It's designed by you.
[LAUGHTER]
So we don't have a lot of women at Google,
but I imagine in the professional world,
it's full of women and there's lots
of cattiness and mean people.
How do you handle really catty people?
Like, in your show?
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: We aren't catty, are we?
No, it's-- how do you, I don't know--
I wouldn't waste any time on that.
I really wouldn't.
At the end, you know it's just what matters is what matters.
AUDIENCE: I really enjoy your show.
And I love the message you give.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Oh you mean about the show.
AUDIENCE: Yeah.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Well, that, you have to understand,
that the producers pushed them to.
That's the show.
The show they kind of say, oh come on, are you upset,
they-- and I get so mad when they
do that because I don't want that to be there.
So it's to create a little drama.
And I remember my granddaughter telling me,
Didi, you need drama, you need drama.
AUDIENCE: Thank you.
MARY GROVE: But you have zero tolerance for--
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: No, I don't no, I don't like it.
AUDIENCE: Hello, my name is Firese.
I was wondering in your career, how much
were you driven by the business side
and how much were you driven by the artistic side?
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: My first drive was to be independent.
So it was really to be successful financially,
to buy my finance independence.
And so I didn't even realize at the time
how much the creative side mattered.
I mean, I just used the creative side
in order to achieve the next thing.
I would like to be able to spend more time now on the creative
because I realize that I'm much better at that.
But unfortunately, you need both.
But I personally prefer the creative.
The creative is not just designing a dress.
It's thinking how you could sell it,
it's also marketing, it's a lot of that, and that I love.
Thank you.
AUDIENCE: Hi, Diane, I'm Lily.
So in the last few years, there's
been so much of a focus on, can women have it all,
the feminine and entrepreneurs and family life and business
life, and you make it seem easy.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: It's not.
AUDIENCE: And I'm just wondering what advice
you have for people trying to strike that balance
and go forward.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: It's not easy.
I mean it's not easy to-- people always
say how did you have a career and children and a husband,
and most probably the husband is the hardest.
And it's so unfair that I say that, because in my case,
it's not true.
I have a husband who is absolutely not hard.
But to combine it all is very, very difficult.
But the truth is I think that women are equipped--
I think women, we multitask before there was such a word.
Because we are used to handling it all and
do it all and everything.
Since we're mostly women, I always say,
we have our period every month, and nobody knows about it,
right?
Men couldn't handle that.
So I think that we're just used to-- it's hard.
It's hard to do it all, it's hard to have it all.
But it's worth it.
Because I think a woman should have children,
whether she has them or adopts them or whatever,
and I also think the woman should
have an identity outside the home.
So there you go.
Good luck.
AUDIENCE: Hi, Diane.
My name is Emily and thank you again for taking time
to come here and to meet all of the lovely ladies
and gentleman here at Google.
I want to share with you a little bit
about myself, because they do want
to ask you for your advice.
I grew up being very involved in art and design,
and I thought that that was something
that I really wanted to get into.
When I graduated college, we were just
recovering from the economic recession
so at that point in time my peers and I,
we were just happy to get a job.
We weren't thinking about our passion,
we just wanted to make sure we weren't unemployed.
So I got into tech, and I found my way here at Google.
And when Google comes calling, you don't say,
oh well, I don't know, I don't want to be in tech,
you just say hey where is the dotted line, I'm going to sign.
But now I definitely want to ask for your advice
and see if I still have a passion for art and fashion,
what should I do?
Should this be something I can pursue?
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: I think that first of all you
have to make sure that you have to have
an idea that make sense.
And maybe you can combine your passion for art with tech.
And that's really how it goes.
You have to do something that you like.
Clearly.
But I don't know, maybe you're just a painter,
and you'd like to paint, and you could also be a tech.
I think that you have to listen to heart but also to your brain
and make sure that whatever you do makes sense.
AUDIENCE: Thank you.
AUDIENCE: Hi, so I'm a little bit older most of the crowd
here.
So when I'm listening to you talk about all the failures
you've had in your life, and for me,
especially since I'm kind of stuck in the start
over phase, through no doing of my own.
How do you go about the start over after the failures?
Do you have a ritual?
Because I mean, it's going to happen a lot.
That's part of being alive.
So what's your process for dealing with it after you
figured out you failed and you need to go onto the next step?
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Don't dwell on the negative.
Just don't dwell on the negative and learn from it.
And just be excited about starting again.
I mean just starting, there's nothing more fun
than starting because so much is unknown.
And the unknown is exciting, it shouldn't be scary.
I think it's exciting, and you just go for it.
I mean, this is a company where if you don't believe in
miracles here, then I don't know.
AUDIENCE: Thank you.
MARY GROVE: One follow up question, Diane,
related to that.
In your book you talk about you had this incredible success
starting so early in your twenties,
and then you took a brief hiatus and then decided
to relaunch and come back.
So what was the thought process where
you decided to start again?
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Well, I thought
I was finished with fashion and then I came back,
and I realized my brand had disappeared.
With that, also a side of my identity and I
didn't like that.
I mean, I've had failures, but I mean,
when I hear it like that, it's like overall,
my life has been pretty successful.
So what I tried to explain in the book
is that not everything goes right.
And you just make it work.
But there were a lot of moments that-- I mean, nobody outside I
was interviewed recently in London
by a journalist, a fashion journalist, who has known me
all along all through these things,
and he had no idea that I was going through a difficult time.
Because you don't say it.
And he read the book, and he said,
oh my god I had no idea, this and that.
So what I tried to do in the book
is that it's like an x-ray of how I felt.
And how I felt is how I felt, so outside nobody knew that.
MARY GROVE: We're glad you launched again.
Last question.
AUDIENCE: Hi, I'm Erin.
I just had a quick question.
There's a lot of interesting stuff going on in fashion tech,
particularly around democratizing luxury brands.
I think you yourself are on websites like Rent the Runway,
I don't know if that's by choice.
I'm just curious to see as a designer
if you think that those sorts of mechanisms devalue your brand,
or you're happy that more people are wearing them?
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: I met those girls.
I think I was the first person that they came to see
and they were smart.
I almost hired them.
And again, I said about them-- I don't know if anyone knows,
but it's about renting clothes-- and I
think that they're great girls, but I'm not sure
that five years from now that what they're doing now
is exactly what they will be doing then.
At this point they have the largest dry cleaning business
in the country.
So it's-- but it was their way in.
And so we'll see where it all goes,
I think we all welcome that.
I think we all welcome that, I think it's all good.
AUDIENCE: Thank you.
MARY GROVE: Thank you.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Even fighting fakes,
you know that's part of the journey.
MARY GROVE: So before we wrap up,
I'd like to close with something that I
like to call free word association.
Where I say one word, and I'm going
to ask you to say the first word that comes to mind.
Starting with fashion.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Fashion, fashion I would say beauty.
Beauty,
MARY GROVE: Travel.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Travel I would say adventure.
MARY GROVE: Belgium.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Belgium, I would say boring.
MARY GROVE: Confidence.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Confidence
I would say confidence is indispensable.
MARY GROVE: Google
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Google is Google
is what it sounds like it Googles.
MARY GROVE: Passion.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Huh?
MARY GROVE: Passion.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Passion, passion, life.
MARY GROVE: Role model.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Role model, my mother.
MARY GROVE: And finally, wrap dress.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Wrap dress paid my bills.
[LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE]
Oh that, that's a little piece of the TV show.
MARY GROVE: Before we close, we want
to give everyone a sneak preview of this Sunday's episode.
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
-Amanda come on in.
How are you?
-Good, how are you?
I'm literally freaking out, like shaking, my heart's beating,
I think my vision is like going blurry.
-Bronson came to see me and he say, wow you know,
I'm a little nervous.
How's it going?
-At times, there's like a little bit of tension.
-What goes on?
-Well I got in a little argument with Britney today.
She's trying to say little things to put herself
here and put the others below, and I don't think that's right.
She likes to be the boss and take charge of the situation.
And I've kind of just let her, but I'm
at the point where I-- I'm getting emotional.
I don't usually--
-No, that's OK.
-Thank you.
-You know, when I was young I didn't
want to be taken advantage of.
As I get more confident and less insecure,
I realize that you have to stand for who you are.
-Yeah.
-It's important, especially in the fashion industry,
to actually forget about the personality of the people
you're working with.
Just get the job done.
[END VIDEO PLAYBACK]
[APPLAUSE]
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Sunday at 10 o'clock.
And you can tweet a lot so my ratings go up.
MARY GROVE: Before we close, I wanted
to share with everyone there are copies of Diane's two
new books.
One is the memoir, "The Woman I Wanted To Be."
I can't recommend it highly enough.
I loved reading every word.
And the second is this beautiful coffee table book,
called "The Journey of a Dress."
And Diane will be with us a bit longer to sign them.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: If you have the book on your laps,
can you bring it up like that so I could take a nice picture?
All right.
Thank you.
MARY GROVE: Give a very warm thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
[MUSIC PLAYING]